605 Freeway chain-reaction crash kills 2 in Whittier

Southbound lanes of the 605 Freeway in Whittier were shut down Thursday morning because of a deadly series of crashes.

The collisions happened just minutes apart around 2:00 a.m. at Whittier Boulevard. Five vehicles were involved in the chain-reaction accident. Authorities said two people were killed.

Destiny Reyes, the driver of the first vehicle that crashed, said she lost control of her car.

"I was going to change lanes to my left lane, but I saw that there was a car, so I tried avoiding it, but there was also a car in the front. So I slammed on my brakes, but my brakes felt kind of hard a little bit. So when I slammed, my car skid and I lost control," said Reyes.

Reyes was able to get out of her car and off the freeway. She then witnessed another vehicle slamming into her wrecked car. A third car then slammed into that one. Officials said shortly after that, another crash involving two other vehicles occurred.

According to their early investigation, officials say it doesn't appear that drugs or alcohol were involved. They're going to try to determine if there was a mechanical problem with Reyes' vehicle that caused her brakes to lock up and for her to lose control.

Traffic was diverted at Beverly Boulevard as crews cleared the scene. All lanes were reopened around 5:45 a.m.